Health Care Safety Index May 2015

The US Preventive Services Task Force issued new draft recommendations regarding who should undergo mammogram screening and how often. Mammograms were recommended for women between 50 and 74 every 2 years.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicineconcluded that Clindamycin and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole were equally effective in treating uncomplicated soft-tissue infections.

A study published in the BMC Medicine concluded that following a healthy lifestyle meeting dietary and weight and exercise recommendations helps (a) prevent colorectal cancer and (b) people diagnosed with colorectal cancer live longer.

An article published in Science determined that measles causes children to become immunocompromised for up to 3-5 years.

A study published in JAMAdemonstrated that a medication regimen that included Daclatasvir, Asunaprevir and Beclabuvir resulted in a sustained virologic response after 12 weeks of treatment in 91.3% of patients diagnosed with hepatitis C.

A study published in JAMAdemonstrated that 57.7 percent of reported concussions in high school players and 57.6 percent of concussions in college players occurred during practice. The high incidence of concussions in practice is troubling because players and coaches have much more ability to control the kinds of impacts that result in these injuries during practice, as opposed to games.

A study in JAMA Internal Medicine established that atypical antipsychotic medications like Seroquel, Risperdal and Zyprexa increase the risk of falls for elderly patients.

The FDA issued a warning indicating that some drugs used to treat Type 2 Diabetes including Invokana, Jardiance, Invokamet, Xigduo XR and Glyxambi, can sometimes lead to ketoacidosis.

An article appearing in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care demonstrated that prescribing errors with the potential to cause harm frequently go undetected and the incidence of medication errors reported do not accurately reflect the profile of medication errors which occur in hospitals.

A study published in Obstetrics and Gynecologyconcluded that there was up to a 41% chance that maternal deaths during pregnancy could be avoided with better maternal safety programs.

An article appearing in the Annals of Cardiothoracic Surgerydetailed the successful minimally invasive aortic valve surgery program at the Cleveland Clinic.

A study published in Pain Management Nursingdemonstrated that the presence of dogs can reduce pain and distress in children who undergo venipuncture.

A study published in the International Journal of Impotency Researchconcluded that there was no increased risk of mortality associated with long term testosterone therapy.